Truck



July 7, 1925. 1,545,165

J. B. OCONNOR TRUCK Filed Jan. 6, 1922 Patented July 7, 1925.

"UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. OCONNOR, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOH TO LYON METALLIC MANUFAC-TUBING COMPANY, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 01? ILLINOIS.

TRUCK.

Application filed January 6, 1922. Serial No. 527,354.

To all whom 2'2. may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. OCoNNoR, a citizenof the United States,residing at Aurora, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, haveinventeda certainnew and useful Improvement in Trucks, of which thefollowing is a specification. My invention relates to shelving, moreparticularly in the form of portable shelving or trucks, and one of theobjects of the invention is to provide a simple but rigid interlockingconstruction whereby the shelves and the supporting posts may be readilytaken apart or assembled. This 1 characteristic applies not only to thestructure as a'whole, but includes the fact that single shelves may beremoved or replaced without disturbing the structure as a whole.

Another object is to provide a concealed joint which will not only addto the appearance of the structure but will protect the joints, and to acertain extent the shelves, from damage due to contact with externalobjects. Another purpose of the invention is to obtain great rigidity inthe assembled structure notwithstanding the fact that the same isreadily collapsible. I obtain my objects by the mechanism illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side assembly View,certain of the parts being broken away to show the structure more indetail.

Figure 2 is a top plan view showing one corner of the structure insection for better revealing the internal structure.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective showing on an increased scale thelocking pin and sheath-like construction of the post to which it isattached.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a corner of the post andillustrating, in connection with Figure 3, the manner in which the partsmay be assembled.

Like numerals denote like parts throughout the several Views.

I have chosen to illustrate the invention as applied to shelved trucksfor industrial uses. In this type there are four corner posts 1, thesebeing provided with castors 2. The posts are U-shaped in horizontalsection, the opening of the U facing inward toward the shelf asillustrated. The shelves or trays in the present case have bottoms 4having upstanding flanges 5 at the margins, these flanges beingpreferably rolled at the upper edge 6 for strengthening the shelf andimparting a finished appearance to it.

Pins 10 are fastened within the posts at suitable intervals, vertically,the pins being preferably short sections of flat metallic bars roundedat the edges and top, as best shown in Figure 3. The pins are locatedwithin the posts and are substantially c0- axial with them but arespaced from them by means of U shaped spacers 12. The spacers and pinsare secured to the posts by rivets 14L or other appropriate fasteningdevices, and the result is that when the parts are fastened together thepins will extend upward a short distance from the top of the spacers.Consequently a U-shaped space will be formed between the pin and thepost. This space is for accommodating straps or loops 15 secured to thecorners of the shelves or trays. According to the present design theseloops extend obliquely outwardfrom the corners of the shelves and havelugs 16 which pass to the outside surface of the flanges 5 and aresecured to them by rivets 17 or other appropriate means. In the formillustrated the height of the loops is greater than their diameter, thusimparting a bracing effect to the structure.

In practice, the structure is erected by holding the corner postsupright and passing the loops 15 over the top of the pins 10 until theyrest upon the spacers 12. 'When this act of assembly has been repeatedfor each corner of each tray, it will be found that the structure isextremely rigid under best conditions, the loops fit reasonably snuglyto the pins, and the U-shaped posts themselves fit reasonably snuglyover the outside of the loops, there being just sufficient play toenable the parts to be assembled and disassembled. It will be evidentthat there is a considerable amount of 100 bearing surface, and that aninterlocking effect is obtained which effectually prevents wracking.

Of course the shape of the parts may be modified somewhat but in itsbest form one 105 of the characteristics of my invention is theeffective interlocking of the parts, the straps not only fitting overthe pins and hence making contact on the inside, but fit ting into theposts and hence making contact on the outside of the loops. As the pins10 are short, the loops may be caused to disengage them by being movedupward a slight distance, and the result is that the topmost shelf maybe removed without disturbing the rest of the structure always. Byproper manipulation the middle shelf may be taken out so that articlesof much larger bulk may be placed upon the lower shelf. In practice, theshelves and posts are made to standard sizes, and the result is that thepartsmay be kept in stock and-may be shipped, knocked down, to theirplace of use, thus eifecting a saving in transportation and handlingcharges. Another advantage of this construction is that the postsproject outward at the corners an appreciable distance andthus serve toa certain extent as guards for preventing any surrounding objects fromrunning into and damaging the shelves, which are usually of lightergauge metal than the posts. Furthermore as the joints are enclosedthatis, the loops 15 and the pins are sheathed within the posts, there ispractically no danger that the joints can become damaged by contact withexternal objects. Nothing short of a very severe blow will change theconfiguration of the parts sufficiently to make assembly difficult.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim and desire tosecure byLe'tters Patent is: i V a 1. A structure of theclassdescribedhaving shelves, posts for supporting them, and upstandingpins parallel to and spaced from a the sides of the posts, the lowerportions oi? the pins being fastened tothe posts and loops at thecorners of the shelves adapted to fit over the pins and to pass betweenthe pins and the sides of the posts to brace the parts and rigidify thestructure.

2. A collapsible structure of the class described having a plurality ofshelves at different heights, corner posts for supporting them,upstanding pins arranged at the side of the posts and being supported atthe bottom by the posts, the, pins being substantially oblong in crosssection and having fiat sides and loops at the corners of the shelvesadapt-edto pass horizontally around the pins and make surface contactwith their sides for bracing the structure.

3. In a structure of the class described, shelves, U-shaped posts facinginward toward the'shelves, upstanding pins supported within said posts,approximately 0051-. ially with them but spaced from them, and shelveshaving loops adapted to engage the pins and occupy the space between thepins and the posts. V 4. In a structure ofthe class described, shelves,U-shaped posts located at the corner of the shelves and facing obliquelyinward, U-shaped spacers fitting within the posts and fastened to them,pins fastened to said spacers, and loops projecting obliquely from thecorners of the shelves and adapted, to fit over the pins and into theposts for sup porting the shelves. w

In witness whereof, I have hereunto Bubscribed my name. I

JOHN B. oooNNo-B;

